Look before you launch
Sometimes, launching can feel like heading out on an expedition. You know there’s an adventure and a destination somewhere, but planning and packing take up all your brain power before you’ve headed out the door.
Planning and identifying possible challenges before they come at you is essential.
But what if I told you there was a way to minimise the challenges, not by trying to predict every single one, but by pausing?
Here are five of the most common mistakes my clients make (okay, I’ll admit I’ve made them, too) that could have been avoided just by pausing and taking baby steps.
Having a half-baked offer to launch
I’ve worked with clients who were hell-bent on launching on X date. They were ready to get out there and do all that it took to make it happen.
But their launches didn’t go the way they wanted. They made way less sales than they expected and their confidence was on the floor. Why? Because they skipped past the part where you make your offer as rock solid as possible.
Pause and reflect on your offer. What is it? Why would people want it? Who is it for? And what does it do? Knowing the basics like how long it is, what’s included, how the content is accessed is great, but it’s all pointless if you’re selling something that your people just don’t need.
Forgetting about your customers
You know the old adage ‘people buy from people’? Well, guess what? People SELL to people, too. Make sure you’ve given your ideal customers a proper think-through before launching.
Who are they? What do they need? And most of all – what do they need to hear to make buying from you easy?
Ignoring the true value of you & your offer
If you’re spending money w, with someone, you don’t want to feel you’re being ripped off, do you? You have to value the whole process – before you even think about parting with the money. And it isn’t just about how much the thing is.
The trick is to add value to every aspect of your launch process. The main question you could ask is, ‘How can I make this better for them?’ That’s where the real value lies—and it’ll go a long way toward helping your customers know you’re the one for them.
Creating a Launch Monster
There are so many bits to a launch. It’s a lot of work – on top of everything else you do in your business (and your real-life commitments, too). Often, the launch plan becomes a nightmare – something else to add to the pile of ‘why can’t I do this?’ rubbish.
Unless someone is actually going to steal your babies/pets if you don’t launch on a certain date, do you really need to knock your pan in trying to hit that self-appointed deadline? Take a moment to think about the pressure you’re piling on yourself. Do you REALLY need to do the big scary stuff all in one week? Or can you be kind and do it in an easier way?
Slapdash marketing (and sales)
If you’re like my clients, you are passionate about everything you do. You get so excited about the launch that you start your marketing from that place. “Ooh, look at this totally amazing thing I’ve created for you”…
But people don’t know if they want that thing. How can they? You’ve just dreamed it up and whacked it out. Give them time to catch up with your brilliance, at least!
Which means starting the conversation from the beginning. Lay out the breadcrumbs so people have a trail to follow. That way – when you do start properly talking about your offer, people have already been thinking about it for a while, and are WAY more curious.
Mistakes are learning opportunities
God it’s annoying when people say stuff like ‘mistakes are are perfect learning opportunities’, but they really are. You can choose to torture yourself with all the things you’ve done ‘wrong’ or you can choose to say ‘you know what – I might have done that a bit skewiff, but I’ve done all of THIS really well’.
Go on, choose that option…I dare you!
When it comes to launches, it might feel like life or death, but it definitely is NOT. The sun continues to rise and set no matter how many people do or don’t choose to work with you after a launch.
And there is always another ‘next time’ for your launch. And when that time comes – think back to the learning opportunities from your last launch and make a plan for nudging past them next time.
By taking a step back before, during and after the launch process you’ll strike the right balance to create a launch that makes you feel good right from the start.